A Book of Fundamental Significance

Abstract

Never before in the history of society have the problems of instruction aroused such widespread interest as in our day. They have gone beyond the limits of pedagogy, psychology, and methodology; ways of enhancing the effectiveness of the educational process are now being discussed by philosophers, mathematicians and specialists in the fields of cybernetics and technology. The task of achieving optimal instruction has been posed by the very course of the socio-historical process: the rapid rate of development of science and technology makes demands upon education that cannot be fulfilled within the framework of established educational practice. The contradiction that has arisen between the new demands on education and the traditional practice in conducting it cannot be resolved without a radical improvement of the latter. The questions connected with the problem of what to teach and how to teach require serious review. The book under consideration is devoted to the pressing problems of primary education (A...